No Promises
by noemi1225
Summary: In an AU, where the war against Shawn is over but Erik chose a different path. Staying with Charles, they continue the recruitment of young mutants to help developing their skills. However, Shawn wasn't the only threat the X-Men had to face to protect themselves and the world. In the midst of an upcoming fight, can Erik find more than just closure from his past?
1. Chapter 1

Charles and Erik just arrived at the freshly rented two-bedroom apartment. It wasn't anything fancy, they needed to keep low profile while they were here. Charles wanted to come to the Arizonian city to find a certain young mutant he wanted to recruit to their group. He knew the boy was around 16-17 years old and he could feel his fear, confusion and uncertainty when he found him using Cerebro. He wanted to offer him the same thing that the other kids: answers and a sense of belonging. Erik thought it was too early for them to be on the move, but he knew how stubborn Charles could be, so accompanying him seemed like a sensible thing. For the first few days, they just wanted to observe the boy, learning his habits in hope of finding an opportunity when they could find him alone so Charles could calmly have a short conversation with him. But apparently, this proved to be harder than they anticipated. He went shopping with his mother, escorted his younger sister to anywhere she wanted to go and helped his father with all the works around the house. Also, it seemed like the boy was really popular among girls and had many friends, basically spending all his time in the company of someone. Erik insisted on Charles just using his telepathic power to talk to the boy, but Charles didn't want to scare the kid even more than he already was.

On a Tuesday morning, around 7 am Charles had been arguing on the phone with someone for at least half an hour, possibly Moira, Erik thought. As they weren't planning on going on their mission till the early afternoon, Erik though he should just go for a jog then to the store on the street corner while Charles was fuming on the phone. Getting dressed, he took the keys and some money before leaving the apartment, hopefully to clear his head.

It was more than an hour later when he got back, brown paper bag packed with the goods he just bought. Stepping inside the building, he made his way to the elevator, just to see a woman with long brown wavy hair stepping inside, sighing and pushing the button to her floor. As she looked up at him, her seemingly tired face was slowly disappearing behind the already closing door. Then the elevator door emitted a loud creaking noise as it stopped before closing, just to open again, with the woman looking at Erik with an expectant look, her hand near the button panel.

"Good morning" she said with a tired voice, eyes fixed on him.

"Morning" he replied, surprised, standing still about a meter away from the elevator.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, she gave him a long blink then a confused smile.

"Are you…" she started, her eyes looking next to the empty space in the elevator, "…coming upstairs?" she finally asked, already facepalming herself for the stupid question.

"Why? Is there a downstairs part to the block?" he replied with a grin, stepping inside. Seeing that the button to the 4th floor was already pushed, he just stood next to her, looking at her.

Smartass, she thought. Of course I make myself look dumb the first time I meet someone.

With a slight shake of her head and a small chuckle, she just decided not to comment on that.

"So you're one of the new tenants" she stated, looking at him from the corner of her eye for a second. Seeing him raising his eyebrow, she continued. "Mrs. Ackerman in 107 has lots of free time and a very boring retirement."

"Erik" he stated simply, not really knowing, why he felt the need to do so. They are going to leave this place as soon as they get the chance to talk to that boy. "And thanks" he breathed out silently, feeling quite confused and angry for his stupid mouth for talking without thinking.

Looking over the woman, he saw that she was leaning over the side of the elevator, breathing slowly. She had a grey coat on, some leggings and trainers, and a rather big handbag in her hands. Looking at the bag, he could see some white clothes inside. Clothes that he could swear were bloody, which made him furrow his brows.

That didn't go unnoticed by her. This was just a great start with the new tenant. Awkward, as it always was when she met someone new. Trying to supress a smile, she looked at her feet, thinking, this was the longest damn elevator ride to her floor ever.

"I'm not a murderer or something" she said, as the familiar ding of the elevator finally released her from this stupid situation. Stepping out, slightly lifting her bag not even looking back at him, as she made her way to 407. "I swear."

"That's reassuring" he said, looking at her figure with curious eyes, as she entered her apartment.

Then, with a short chuckle, he got his keys out of his pocket and entered 404. As he did, he was faced with Charles sitting in an armchair, looking at him grinning.

"What's with the stupid grin?" Erik asked, stopping for a second before putting his bag on the counter.

"Nothing" Charles replied, standing up, making his way toward Erik. "Can I not just grin at my friend?" he tried asking innocently.

"Considering the state you were in when a left?" Erik asked stoically, raising his brows, tossing an apple to the telepath.

"That, my friend…" Charles started in a fake hurt tone, "…was uncalled for."

~v~

She was late. Again. No matter how early she woke up or how quickly she dressed and prepared, she was always late from everywhere. Her co-workers always joked that when the time comes, she will even be late from her own funeral. And honestly, she felt like they were right. Putting on her simple black high heels, she took one last look in the mirror. She usually didn't have make up on, but her co-workers birthday party seemed like a good excuse to put some on. Or at least try. That mint green dress she got, however, made her feel incredibly pretty.

"Whatever. Good enough" she muttered to herself, before getting her keys and handbag, leaving the apartment.

Leaving, then turning back in an instant, remembering that she left the container with cupcakes she made on the counter. Groaning, she opened the door, stepped inside, grabbed the container and made her way to the elevator, just to see the "Out of odrer" sign that the stupid landlord misspelled when he first made it taped there. Cursing under her breath, she turned around, again. Now she left her coffee on the bookcase next to the coat hanger. Going back again, annoyed, she grabbed the thermos bottle and the lid next to it. Hurrying outside, she started running down the stairs, just to trip because of the unfamiliar shoes on her, falling face first to the man coming up the stairs, container flying and coffee spilling on both, as the man caught her, out of instinct. As of lately, this was the worst day of her life.

~v~

Two days passed since their meeting, and she often came to Erik's mind. She was strange, to say the least. "I'm not a murderer or something. I swear" her words came to his mind as he was smiling to himself, walking up the stairs. Charles was caught up in talking with an old lady on the 1st floor but he just didn't feel like socialising. As he almost reached the top of the final landing to the 4th floor, he heard a door slamming shut and quick tapping of heels approaching the stairs. He saw her weird neighbour appearing on the top of the stairs, looking snatched, ready to party. Even if it was only around 3 pm. She clearly didn't notice him, as she was struggling trying to put a lid on a bottle, failing. The next thing he saw was her falling toward him. His body was moving without him realising what he was doing, stepping right in front of her and planting one of his foot firmly one step lower to provide a safe landing for her. And her coffee. Expecting a rush of hot burning feeling to go through the parts of his skin the coffee hit, he was pleasantly surprised to feel the opposite, as most of it landed on his face, along with his and… well, her upper body, as he put his arms out to grab her by the waist and lower back.

"I can't believe this" she snapped, looking up at him apologetically, realising who she bumped into. "I'm so sorry, Erik."

There was a strange feeling in his stomach as she said his name. Releasing the grip on her, she stepped back, looking at the damage she caused, then inside of her completely emptied thermos.

"I got coffee all over your shirt" she whined, not even acknowledging it was on her dress as well.

Looking down at her hands, Erik realised what that bottle was, and it just confused him more.

"Why do you bring around a thermos with cold coffee in it?" he asked in a sarcastic voice.

The apologetic look leaving her face, he looked at his questioning face with a sarcastic one in return, putting her free hand on her hip.

"Take your shirt off" she ordered after a few seconds of them staring at each other in silence, holding her hand out.

"What?" he asked, taken aback at her sudden change in demeanour.

"Give me your shirt. I'll wash the coffee out of it" she said simply, still locking eyes with him.

Without saying a word, he just slowly took off his shirt and gave it to her, not tearing his eyes away from hers. Watching her take it, turn around and go up the stairs, he slowly followed to the top, watching her disappear and reappear after a few seconds from 407. As she closed the door, Charles slowly appeared behind him with a container in his hand, looking baffled at his half-naked friend, then at the lady closing the door of 407.

"Did I miss something?" Charles asked Erik, loud enough for her to hear.

She turned around just to see the shirtless Erik and an unknown man standing next to each other, both looking at her. Erik with the same stern look as before, and the other one with an innocent childish smile.

Congratulations, Olivia, you made a fool out of yourself again, she thought mentally petting her own shoulders as a fake praise. Feeling a slight tingling in the back of her head, she dismissed, the feeling, making her way to the stairs, passing by the two, now, smiling men. As she was a few steps away from them, she heard the unknown man speak.

"Oh, Olivia" Charles said. "I think you lost this" he lifted the container with the cupcakes in his hand, with a sweet smile.

Stopping in her tracks, she looked back at the man, then in his hand, thinking about how weird it was that he knew her name.

"Oh, yeah. Guess I did" she said slowly, going back and taking it. "Thank you, …"

"Charles" he smiled kindly. "I'm Charles Xavier."

"Thanks, Charles" she repeated. "And thank you, Erik" she said, before leaving, leaving the two mutants looking at each other before Charles made his way to their apartment.

"Did you just read her mind?" asked Erik with an accusing tone, following him.

"I wouldn't say that" he replied, looking back at his friend, grinning. "But her thoughts were loud enough for me to hear them."

~v~

The next morning, she left the cleaned and ironed shirt with some cupcakes she didn't take to the party hanging on the door handle of 404. Laying back in the bathtub, letting the water envelope her whole body, she started thinking about the new neighbours. She was sure they were mutants. Probably both. And they moved here not too long after that young boy's powers awakened.

She was at the hospital, just about to leave as her shift had been over for more than an hour. Then the ambulance brought in the boy who was said to suffer a huge electric shock but beside being unconscious, all his vitals seemed fine. She has a feeling that he was special. Offering to take the patient from her co-worker, so she could take a short break, she went to his hospital room, arranging the bed and the machines. Listening to his breathing for a few seconds, she started talking.

"Good evening, David" she said in a kind voice. "How are you feeling?"

She didn't get any answer. Watching his chest's movement and his eyes for a few more seconds, she decided to continue.

"You must be very confused…" she said, reading his vitals and writing in his medical record. "And scared. But I don't want to hurt you. I just want you to know that you're not alone."

"You know nothing" the boy said, looking at her harshly.

"I know more than you think, David" she said, smiling. "But you… There are many things you have to learn from now on."

Sometimes she was wondering what would've happened to the boy if she decided to leave early that night. Other times she'd rather not think about it. Sighing, she sank further into the bathwater, feeling her nerve endings relax at the touch of the hot liquid. If she could, she would never leave the bathtub. But she had responsibilities, things and people to take care of. Looking at the clock on the bathroom wall, she realised it's already 3.20 am, and she had work from 6 am. And she hadn't slept yet. She couldn't. She felt extremely conflicted. She didn't know if the new guys meant any harm to young David. Or to her, for that matter. Could they know that she's… No way. And why would they even care about her now? Not that she felt threatened by their presence. That Erik guy was a bit strange, but well, so was she. She couldn't consider that as a warning sign. She was so confused. And tired. So very tired.

~v~

In 404, there was also someone who couldn't sleep the whole night. When they wanted to leave the apartment in the morning, they found a small bag on the handle. Putting it on the counter, they left for yet another unsuccessful day to hunt the kid down. Even though Charles hated using the phrase, hunt down, basically that was what they were trying to do. When they got back, they already forgot about the package and Charles only brought it up around 9 or 10 pm. First, he had the shirt in his bedroom, laid on the back of the chair, sitting on the bed watching it. Like he wanted to interrogate it. Standing up and holding it in his hands, he examined it closely. Not even a single wrinkle anywhere. Bringing it to his face, he could smell a very faint lavender scent from the soft fabric. Was it always this soft? He never actually cared about it but this time it seemed to be different. Feeling a surge of anger because of his stupid actions, he threw the shirt on the bed before slumping down next to it, burying his face in his hands.

What the fuck is wrong with me? he thought, with his stomach tightening.

Putting the shirt back on the back of the chair, he decided to go to sleep. That was at least 4 hours ago. His thoughts seemed to calm down a bit, and he finally felt the familiar warmth of sleep overtake his body. He was hoping to get a short but good sleep in the remaining hours.

He was back in the kitchen of the mansion, preparing something to eat in the middle of the night, after finishing training and taking a shower. Hearing footsteps approaching the kitchen, he turned his head toward the door and saw a feminine body passing by in the darkness of the dining room. Following the figure, he went to the dining room, switching on the lights but she was nowhere to be found. Hearing rustling from one of the side corridors, he followed the noise without any caution. Entering the hallway, he saw Olivia in a striped shirt-like nightgown sitting on her heels next to Beast who was sleeping curled up on a dog bed in the corridor. Her nightgown hardly covered her butt in this position that made him swallow hard. As she stood up and turned around, she looked at him with a small smile.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, wondering what she was doing in a mansion full of mutants in training.

"I was just checking on Beast. I heard him squeal in his sleep" she said simply, like this was the most natural thing in the world.

And he didn't argue with her. It sounded logical. What else would you do if you heard Beast squeal while sleeping on a dog bed in the corridor?

"Right" he answered, watching her getting closer to him.

"So, do you wanna continue what we started yesterday?" she asked, stopping inches from him.

Does he? He had no idea what was going on, but the words left his mouth anyway.

"Yes" he said, sounding more curious and needy than he would ever admit.

Without any hesitation, she put her hand to his chest while she slid the other one up his neck to the back of his head, making him back to a wall while softly pulling his head down for a kiss. First, just a few small soft kisses on the lip as she slowly caressed his hair while her other hand travelled to his arm, gently stroking it. Looking up at him in the eye for a second, before she closed her eyes, sliding her tongue inside his mouth. Reacting instinctively, his own tongue gave a warm welcome to hers, as he put his hands on the sides of her waist, moving her closer, until he could feel her chest and stomach being pressed to his. One of his hands hugged her, to keep her in this position, while the other moved up to her face, fingers reaching behind her ear and thumb stroking her face. Moving her hair to the back, he broke the kiss as his lips started planting kisses on her lips, cheek, jawline, gradually reaching her neck. Then his tongue made its way down her neck to the sensitive and soft skin just above her collar bone, kissing and gently biting down on it. As he did, his hand slid down from her back grabbing and squeezing her butt, earning a long breath of satisfaction from her. While he did so, she decided to take things into her own hand. Quite literally. Untying the knot on his sweatpants, she slipped her hand inside…

Opening his eyes and taking in a sharp breath, he just stared at the ceiling with wide eyes for a few seconds.

What the fuck, Erik? he thought to himself.

Sitting up in the bed, he tried calming his fast heartbeat and his hard, throbbing erection. Looking over the clock, he saw it was just a bit over 5 am. That's it for the good night's sleep. Getting out of bed, he stopped next to the chair, eyeing his shirt for a second before heading to the shower. He really needed to get rid of this early morning energy he just got.

~v~

She was late again, so she decided to go to work in her uniform, so she could start her shift sooner. Putting on a light coat, she left the apartment in a hurry, meeting Erik in the hallway, wearing tracksuit. He stopped on his track when he saw the reason of his frustration approaching the stairs just as he was about to go down.

"Morning, neighbour" she said lightly, throwing her bag on her shoulder.

"Hm" he replied simply, zipping up his top, making his way down the stars along with her.

Seeing he was not a morning person, she decided not to start a conversation with him. Feeling like the silence between them was getting more and more awkward, he was the one who decided to talk to her.

"Now I understand the bloody clothes" he commented, looking at her nurse uniform, making her grin.

"You did think I killed someone, didn't you" she replied matter-of-factly, eyeing him.

"Can't say you didn't seem suspicious" he replied without even a small curve in his lips. After a few seconds of getting no reply beside a smile, he continued. "From 6 to 6?"

"Usually. Now I'm just helping out a co-worker for a few hours. Hopefully I'll be back by 1 or 2" she sighed.

As the finally reached the front door, Erik opened the door for her, receiving a small smile and a nod from her.

"Well, my bus should be here any minute" she said, motioning to the bus stop a few meters away. "Have a nice jog" she said.

"Thanks" he replied simply, before turning around and making his way on the opposite direction.


	2. Chapter 2

Things didn't go well for the two mutant men that evening. Not only they lost sight of their target but encountered a group of 5 mutants who were also looking for the boy. However, their intentions were not as nice as Charles', and they came prepared. As if they expected Charles to be there. The only reason they made it out alive was probably because the enemy group thought Charles will be alone. The combination of their numbers, abilities and equipment indicated that they were experts at what they did. Finding, hunting down and incapacitating their targets.

"We shouldn't be here, Charles" Erik hissed through his clenched jaw, his back to the wall, clutching his right arm.

"Right now, that's the only place we can go" Charles breathed out, messing with the key to open their apartment door. "We need to patch ourselves up somewhere."

Seeing that Charles was unable to open that damned door, Erik decided to use his power to click the lock open, but as he did, a wave of tremendous pain burst through his right arm and shoulder. Sliding down the wall with a loud pained grunt he left a trail of blood and brown ooze behind.

"Erik" Charles crouched down to his still grunting friend, trying to hush him. "Please, endure it just a bit more" he begged, feeling the wound on his left side throbbing because of his sudden movement, but he didn't have time to care about it.

They were careless. He was careless. They got trapped, injured, and now he couldn't use his power and he didn't even know what was happening to Erik, but their situation was distressing.

"Just a few more steps" he whispered to Erik. "We have to go insi…"

He was cut off by the door to 407 opening, with Olivia looking at the two men with wide eyes. Shocked by her sudden presence, Charles slowly stood up in a guarded position, slowly raising one of his hand up defensively.

"That's not…" he started, looking for words, as she started coming their way with a stern expression. "…what it looks like."

"She's a… nurse" he heard Erik mumble, looking down at him trying to get up.

"Get inside and pack all the stuff you need" she said looking at Charles, as she supported Erik up, throwing his left arm around her shoulder. "Come to my place and leave no trails. Whoever did this, they will look for you here first."

"Thank you" Charles let out a relieved sigh, watching Olivia and Erik stumble to her apartment, before Charles quickly got inside to get their stuff.

"You just made a great mistake" Erik groaned in pain, as she made him sit on a chair in the kitchen.

"So did you, it seems" she replied ironically out of habit.

He didn't have the energy to counter that, so he just gave a tired half-grin in response, shaking his head. He could feel his heart beating hard in his chest, with each beat the blood passing by the wound on his shoulder stung and burned. Pain was starting to spread to his head and lower back, along with his whole right arm.

This isn't gonna end well, he thought grimly, as he heard her rummaging through some drawers and Charles' hurried steps approaching.

As Charles entered the apartment with two luggage, he saw Erik resting with his left hand on the table, his right arm hanging by his side. Olivia was behind him, already having a first aid kit on the counter and scissors in her hand. Looking at Charles, she motioned with her head for him to put the bags down in the small hall.

"Erik" she started with a serious but kind tone. "I have to cut the T-shirt off so I could examine your wound."

"What can I do?" asked Charles hurriedly, as she started cutting up the T-shirt from its right arm part, earning quiet grunts from Erik.

"There are clean towels in the bathroom cabinet. First door to your right" she said calmly. "Moisten one well and bring it here."

With a nod, he was already on his way to the bathroom, while she finished cutting the T-shirt, slowly peeling it off from his bloody shoulder blade. The wound looked like nothing she'd ever seen before. There were several vein-like branches toward his arm and the rest of his back starting from a 2-3 cm diameter wound. Everything was covered in blood and some rusty-coloured liquid slowly oozing out from the main wound. Stepping in front of him, she examined his chest but didn't see any sign of this infection, or whatever it was. However, some of the veins in the back were getting dangerously close to his heart, and she didn't want to find out what would happen if this reached his heart. Cleaning and disinfecting the wound seemed like sensible things to start with. Getting to the first aid kit, she grabbed some iodine, as Charles arrived with the dripping towel.

"Thank you" she replied, taking it from him.

"How's he doing?" Charles asked, looking at the wound with worried eyes, supressing any kind of reaction that Erik could hear.

"I have to know how he got the wound" she stated matter-of-factly as she started gently wiping the area around the wound. "I can clean and sterilise it, but without knowing what this substance is, I won't know how to proceed."

"I don't know what that thing is" Charles admitted honestly, looking at her, hoping she believed him.

Staring into his eyes, she took a frustrated breath. God, he was so angry that his power got supressed by that injection the enemy got to give him. It would have been so much easier to know what she was thinking. If she believed him or not. Or what her plans were when Erik's condition got stable. Or when she figured out they were… different.

Opening the bottle of iodine, she just decided to go for it and pour it over the wound. She didn't know what this stuff was but hoped the antiseptic characteristics of iodine would help with at least stopping the spreading. She didn't really have any proper tools at home, so she just improvised.

"Erik" she started again, informing him about what she was about to do. "I'm gonna disinfect the wound now. It will probably hurt. A lot."

"Just do it" he groaned, his body tensing, left hand grabbing the edge of the table.

Letting out a silent breath, she did. And that proved to be a big mistake. As soon as the iodine reached the edge of the wound, Erik inhaled sharply, his grip on the table tightening. Olivia could see that the iodine started to bubble and vaporise as it got in contact with the brown ooze, making Erik's pained grunts turning almost into screams. Simultaneously, she could see and hear every door in the house throwing open, her iron pans flying out of her cupboards, the cutlery shaking in the drawers. Realising what was happening, Charles ran to Erik, trying to calm him by talking to him. As she was standing behind him, she saw the smaller branches from the wound grow bigger and extend further as her home became a battlefield of metallic objects. Realising what might be happening, she threw the wet towel on the wound, pressing it firmly around the edges.

"It's okay, Erik" she said confidently. "Try to calm down, I'm done with it" she continued, one hand reassuringly squeezing his other shoulder. "We're done."

"Verdammt noch mal" Erik groaned quietly, on the brink of losing consciousness.

"It's okay, my friend" Charles said with worried eyes and a tiny smile. "You'll be alright."

Charles stood up, carefully examining the mess around them, then looking at Olivia with a scared and questioning look. So now what? How could he possibly talk themselves out of this situation? He saw her stepping a few steps back from Erik, leaning on the counter with her back. She didn't take her eyes away from Erik's wound, just stared at it, seemingly deep in thought.

"Olivia" Charles started with a questioning tone.

Seeing that calling her name didn't work, he stepped closer, looking briefly at his friend, still breathing heavily, slumping down on the table. Charles understood it. The pain Erik felt caused him to lose control over his power and it scared her. But they needed her help. Erik needed her.

"Olivia" he said again, moving closer to the still-standing woman. "I understand that this was a shocking experience…"

"His power…" she started, slightly squinting at Charles. "I think using it triggers the infection to spread more."

"It… What?" Charles asked, taken aback.

"Great" groaned Erik.

"So how to cure it?" asked Charles, confused. "If it reacts to one's mutation on a deep cellular level, the damage it already caused…" he started rambling, panicking.

"If that was the case, he wouldn't be still with us now" she said with a light voice. "Don't worry."

"Alright" he said, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Still, how do we cure it."

"By removing it from his system" she replied, putting her hair up in a messy bun. "Come on, Erik, let's go to the bathroom" she said, motioning Charles to help and carry his friend there as she went ahead.

"I…" Erik started hazily.

"It's okay" said Charles kindly, putting Erik's hand around his own shoulder, lifting him from the chair. "Come on, Erik, help me out here" he asked, as with his physical condition and his own throbbing wound, he wasn't sure he could carry him alone.

Erik tried. He really did. Putting one foot in front of the other. Trying to carry his own weight. It didn't really work. His legs buckled after a few seconds of standing, and each time he felt his consciousness slowly fading with every small step. As Olivia emerged from the bathroom, she stepped in front of them, gently raising Erik's head, checking his pupils, before turning to take a glance at Charles' shirt with a slowly growing bloody spot on the left side.

"I can take him from here" she said with a small smile, indicating to change with him which he immediately complied with.

Charles didn't understand what exactly was happening. He understood that nurses were supposed to keep calm and understanding at any kind of emergency situations, but he just didn't expect her to help them out so much without any comments or even batting an eye. She was an extraordinarily kind and caring person, he didn't need his power to know that. As she and Erik slowly made their way to the bathroom, he followed them, seeing a few towels thrown to the floor next to the bathtub.

"Can you help me make him sit down?" she asked Charles, who was there in an instant to help. "Let me see that wound" she said, looking at Charles for a second.

"You shouldn't be concerned with that right now" he replied with a tired smile. "I'm okay. Really."

"Charles" she said with a firm voice, as she took off the showerhead, turning on the water and checking its temperature.

As if his body moved on its own, he unbuttoned the lower part of his shirt, showing the cut on his side, his eyes unfocused on some tiles above the bathtub. Stepping closer to look at it, she hummed, then sat down on the left side of Erik.

"The wound it not too deep. It started to bleed again because of the force you carrying his body exerted on you" she said calmly while sitting down next to Erik. "I'll treat it when we're done with him."

"…talk like…not here" they heard Erik murmuring, as she gently made him lay on her legs.

"Erik, listen to me now" she said with the kindest, sweetest voice both men have ever heard. "I'll start extracting this substance from your body that's causing you the pain. But there is something very important I need you to do. Alright?"

"What?" he asked with a harsh voice.

"Your power. Do not use it, no matter what you feel. It's very important that you keep it at bay" she said, putting her hand on his head. "It cannot spread in your body any further, do you understand that?" she asked in a concerned but firm voice.

The only answer she got was a frustrated groan from the mutant in her lap.

"Alright" she breathed out, gently stroking his head. "Alright… Charles, I also need your help."

"What… How are you planning on removing it from his body?" he asked looking around the bathroom in search for any kind of instrument or medicine.

"Charles" she said, looking up at him with a stern but worried look. "Please."

"Alright" he said, pushing his hair back, taking a deep breath. "What do I do?"

"Water" she motioned to the water pouring out of the showerhead. "Keep the water flowing over the wound. Continuously."

He had no idea what good that would do, but for some godforsaken reason, he trusted her. He grabbed that damn showerhead, kneeled next to his lying friend and held it over his shoulder. He could hear Erik flinch under the sensation of hot water washing away the upper layer of blood and goo.

"Now what?" he asked in a confronting voice, looking up at her.

But she didn't react. She was sitting there with her eyes closed, breathing slowly, focusing. One hand on the head of Erik, stroking it in a comforting manner, the other a few centimetres above the injured shoulder. Looking closely at that hand, then at the wound, he first didn't believe his eyes. The water flowing on Erik's skin slowly seeped inside the open wound, making him hiss and grab the back of Olivia's shirt with his left hand. Charles could swear he saw the water move inside the infested veins, to the end of them, then returning back to the wound. And the water that came out had the same rusty colour as the rest of the infested skin. After a few rounds of flushing, he could see the long veins started retracting, leaving only the natural skin colour behind. She was working on one part at a time, with several rounds of cleaning water, slowly and precisely going along the infested areas. The way she controlled the flow of the water with only a few small movements of her fingers blew Charles away. Looking at his lying friend, he seemed to be in a much better shape, but he already lost his consciousness after a few minutes of treatment. Charles kept checking the clock every now and then, while he just stayed there holding the showerhead relentlessly, even though his arms already hurt. 5 minutes, then 10, 15, 30, 60, 120… Time was flying by cruelly, but this was not a process that could be quickened if she wanted to do it properly. But she was getting tired. Looking at her, Charles could see it: her eyes darkening, her skin getting pale, her breaths becoming shorter and faster. Still, she continued. The appreciation and admiration Charles felt toward her at this moment… He would never be able to express it by words. The wound on Erik's shoulder was almost completely gone, breathing steadily, his peaceful face showing Charles everything he needed to know. A few more rounds and she was done with the treatment. With a long, deep inhale and exhale, she finally opened her eyes, throwing her head back.

"He'll be fine" she whispered.

"Now I understand why his rampaging power didn't phase you" Charles smiled, turning off the water. "But I guess you have many questions."

"I surely do" she breathed out. "But those can wait. Let's patch you up as well."

~v~

The room Erik woke up in was like the one in their apartment. Looking around, he saw a makeshift IV stand next to him, and an IV tube still in his arm, securely taped to the skin. The room was dark, with only a dim light from the kitchen/living room area penetrating through the half-open door. Slowly sitting up in the bed, he scratched the back of his neck and let out a short, relieved groan as he felt none of the pain in his arm or back. Then he heard a rustling noise from the living room, followed by silent bare-foot footsteps. Looking out the door, he saw a feminine figure approaching with slightly wobbling steps. Fully opening the door, most of the room was totally lit up, making him squint until his eyes could adapt.

"How are you feeling?" Olivia asked him softly, rubbing her eye as she switched on a small desk lamp on the drawer next to the bed.

"Fine" he replied with a raspy voice, just to be offered a glass of water, already prepared for him.

"The poison was removed from your body. All of it" she said, putting her hand on his forehead, then holding his earlobe between her pointing and middle finger for an approximate temperature check. "I gave you fluids with some morphine, I didn't know if it'd still be painful."

"I see" he replied. "Where's Charles?" he asked nervously, thoughts racing through his mind as he tried to stand up quickly.

His body was not ready for the sudden movement, making him trip forward. Realising that this wasn't a wide decision, he instinctively grabbed onto Olivia. She tried to stop him, and as it didn't work, she then tried preventing him from falling. Well, considering the difference in their weight and physical capabilities, it didn't work either.

"Erik" she said with a surprised voice as she stumbled backwards, falling to the ground with Erik on top of her. "Charles… He's alright. In the other bedroom" she groaned painfully.

Pushing himself up from the ground, he looked down at the woman beneath him. He could see that the fall hurt her, and he felt rather guilty about it. Taking a closer look, she looked exhausted. As she opened her eyes, she was somewhat creeped out by the metal-bender's adamant stare. Still, he couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

"Did you hit yourself?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm…" he breathed out, still staring her. "I'm sorry" he said, getting off of her, sitting down the floor with his back to the bed.

"That's okay" she said, crouching next to the seemingly confused Erik. "Are you dizzy? Do you feel any pain?"

Hearing the commotion, Charles woke up in the next room, already regaining some of his power after the few-hour sleep. Getting up from the bed, he could feel a slight sting from his wound, but he continued his way to the room Erik was sleeping in a blink of an eye. When he reached the door, he could see Erik sitting on the floor with Olivia crouching next to him. He felt that Erik was frustrated and confused.

"Erik" he entered the room, letting out a relieved chuckle. "How're you doing, my friend?" he asked, sitting down next to him on the ground.

"I'm still alive, in one piece" Erik replied unsurely, his eyes scanning the ground, as if the answers he was looking for were there. "But… How?" he finally asked, looking at Charles with a confused look.

Charles' first reaction was a short chuckle, darting his eyes at Olivia with a wide grin. Following his friend's eyes, Erik looked at her, questioningly raising one of his eyebrows. Lowering her head, she sighed loudly before she stood up.

"Us mutants should stick together, right?" she asked half-heartedly, passing by the two men.

Erik first just looked after her wide-eyed, then at his still grinning friend who followed her going to the living room with his eyes. Charles turned his head toward Erik, throwing an arm around his shoulder. Erik shook his head in disbelief, making Charles laugh out loud.

"You should try to go back to sleep" they heard her sleepy advice.

"You heard the lady" said Charles with a soft smile, standing up, holding out his arm for Erik.

Looking up at him, then out the door, and with a grunt, he grabbed Charles' arm.


	3. Chapter 3

Erik was standing by the window of Charles' office, watching as the other man picked up the phone, dialling. It's been almost two weeks since their encounter with Olivia and, obviously, Charles offered her a place at the school. As a nurse, or a teacher of some sorts, or both, Charles was open for anything and everything she was willing to take. Erik could see how thankful Charles was to her, wanting to do something in return for her for saving their lives. Well, saving his life. Something he didn't thank for while they were at her place. He already felt frustrated and idiotic around her and couldn't let his pride take another kick. The two men looked at each other with grim faces, as Charles put the phone down after several rings and no answer, shaking his head. Wincing at the telepath, Erik could feel his stomach tightening and a lump forming in his throat. Charles gave her the number and address of the school, giving her some time to think about his offer, but promised to call her in a week or so. It was three days ago that he first tried calling her apartment. No answer. Since, he tried it 2-3 times a day, thinking about how her shifts at the hospital might work. Still no answer.

"I have a bad feeling about this" Charles sighed worriedly.

Erik just grunted in frustration, looking out the window with his arms crossed, just to see a car arrive at the gate of the school. After a few seconds, the passenger's door opened, and a woman in short white fur coat, a pink dress or skirt and pink shoes got out of the car. Her straight blonde hair reached down to her shoulders, big flashy sunglasses hiding her eyes from the rays of sunlight. With a small wave to the driver, she started walking in the premises of the school with a small pink travel bag. She looked very out of place.

"We shouldn't have left her back there alone" Erik heard Charles mumble, pacing behind him.

"Charles" Erik started with a somewhat questioning tone. "Are you expecting a guest?"

Furrowing his brows, Charles stepped next to his friend, looking out the window. Seeing a strikingly attractive and flashy woman approaching the stairs to the main door, he looked at Erik with a confused and embarrassed smile before he started running to the main door. Rolling his eyes, Erik decided to follow him.

Charles was pretty sure that whoever the guest was, she probably got lost or arrived at the wrong address. Thinking about it, the school was quite far from everything, so he didn't quite understand what could cause the confusion with the address. With a small smile, he opened the door, even before she could reach it. Stepping outside, he saw that the woman was already at the top of the stairs.

"Good afternoon, ma'am" he said with a kind voice, flashing a charming smile at her. "Can I help you?" he asked, walking closer to her.

As he did, he could hear Erik's footsteps behind him, stopping at the door. Charles looked back at him for a second, standing there leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, before turning back to the woman. Looking at her again, Charles was sure he'd met her before.

"I surely hope so" Olivia said, taking off the blonde wig and the sunglasses, revealing the familiar hazel eyes and long brown locks to the two mutant men. "Charles, Erik" she greeted with a small nod, looking at them.

Erik felt like his heart skipped a beat when he realised that it was Olivia. He stood up straight and lowered his arms to his side, eyes wide in disbelief. Stopping on his track for a second, Charles started grinning while shaking his head before stepping closer to her, hugging her hard in relief.

"Thank God you're alright" Charles said, letting out a long sigh.

However, the only answer he got was a pained hiss and Olivia holding onto his shirt with her right hand and her own side with her left.

"Olivia?" Charles asked in confusion, moving away from her a few feet, just to see a spot of blood forming on her clothes where her left hand was. "What happened?" he asked in a serious tone.

"I think my stiches got torn" she replied, eyes shut close in pain.

"We'll take you to Hank" Charles started, turning his head where Erik stood a few seconds ago, seeing that he was already almost next to them, picking the hurt woman up without saying anything. Surprised by suddenly being lifted up from the ground, she looked at Charles for a second, then up at Erik. He didn't return her gaze, just looked in front of himself with determined and from what she could gather, angry eyes.

"My legs work just fine, Erik" she said with a slight embarrassment in her voice, still clutching at her throbbing side.

The way she said his name made him lower his eyes to look into hers, his expression changing for a split second, and Olivia could swear she saw his lips twitch as well.

"It's faster like this" Erik stated matter-of-factly.

"Hank" Charles said firmly, holding two of his fingers to his temple while walking in front of Erik with her bag in his hand, opening the doors. "We need you in the nurse's office."

"What the…" Olivia mumbled, looking at Charles.

"No, it can't wait" Charles said in an upset voice looking at Olivia, presumably answering to someone, she thought.

"Oh, there's no need to drag him from his work" she said defensively, earning surprised looks from the two men. "I mean, I'm fine. I can fix it, maybe with some help on the back."

"Shut up" Erik groaned angrily, as they arrived at the nurse's office, making Olivia almost jump out of his arms. looking at him with a stern face for a second.

"Where do you keep the scissors?" she asked Charles, not even acknowledging Erik's presence.

Seeing that he had no idea, she just stepped to the nearest desk, rummaging through the drawers, then opening a medicine cabinet, finding what she was looking for.

"Maybe you should sit down" Charles suggested worriedly. "Hank will be here in any second."

She just hummed in response, as she started cutting up her dress around her wound, revealing an approximately 4-5 cm cut on her side. The front part was still held together by stiches, while the back part was somewhat messed up, bleeding.

"What happened?" Erik asked, eyeing her wound and then Charles.

"The whole floor was visited by three guys after you left" she said. "They were looking for you. Local cops. Allegedly" she emphasised.

"There's no way the police would be looking for us" Charles breathed out sceptically.

"Exactly" she said, looking for some equipment and disinfectants. "Also, I know everyone from the station. And these guys were not one of them."

"And why did they attack you?" Erik asked, leaning on a table.

"Because I'm dumb and I told them that I haven't seen them before and asked if they're new at the station" she sighed, sitting on the patient bed, seeing that she needed some help with her stitches. "And this was a pretty obvious answer" she said, motioning to her wound.

"Damn it, Charles" she heard a male voice just from outside the room. "What's so urgent that it couldn't wait until…" he stopped in mid-sentence as he entered, looking at Olivia with wide eyes.

Looking over the entering person, she saw a large man in dress pants, a white shirt, tie and a long lab coat on. Also, he had blue fur all over his body. With a long blink, she waited a few seconds for anyone to react. But beside Erik grinning and Charles trying to supress a smile, the man in front of her made no sign of moving or saying anything.

"Olivia Lazlow" she said, with a small wave, looking at the unknown man with warm eyes and a small smile.

"Czy ty jesteś Polakiem?" he asked with a questioning look.

"Węgrem" she replied with a tired smile.

"Oh, my mistake" he replied, scratching his neck, tearing his eyes away from her.

Charles and Erik had no idea what happened or what they were saying. Olivia looked at the man for a few more seconds, then at Erik, followed by Charles, as nobody said anything, and she just wanted her wound to be tended to.

"So… Can someone help me or…?" she asked, confused.

"Oh, right" said Charles, somewhat embarrassed. "Olivia, this is dr. Henry McCoy. I asked him to come so he could fix you up" he said, stepping closer to the other man, patting him on the shoulder.

"You know very well that my main discipline isn't…" started Hank, just to be cut off by Erik.

"You can still take care of her, I assume" said Erik, already leaving the room, grabbing Charles on his way.

"We'll meet in my office when…" she could still faintly hear Charles' words, before she was left alone with dr. Henry McCoy.

"So, um, what can I help you with, Olivia?" Hank asked with coyly.

"Charles torn my stitches" she replied simply, watching his eyes widen in wonder. "Accidentally" she added with a small smile.

His reactions to the stuff she said was priceless. Still, she tried not to smile at him as she watched him trying to contain his reactions at bay. He murmured something she didn't understand as he started to examine her wound.

"I can take my shirt off if it's easier to access it" she offered, earning an intense protest from the man.

He was acting so weird and uncomfortable, and Olivia couldn't put her finger on what his issue might be.

"Sorry" he finally said after a few minutes of him silently treating her wound. "I guess I'm the strangest doctor you've ever seen."

Oh. Now she understood. Not all mutants looked like everyday humans, and he, obviously, didn't feel comfortable about himself around others. Not yet, anyway.

"Well, you've clearly never met Dr. Milligan from the dermatology" she said with a mischievous voice, hoping to ease his mind. "I mean, he puts raw eggs between two slices of toast for breakfast" she added with a fake shiver.

And thankfully, that seemed to be enough to break the ice.

~v~

"What takes him so long" Erik murmured angrily, pouring another whiskey for himself in Charles' office, making Charles grin at him.

Erik was thankful that he didn't look at his friend, but he could imagine his face. Stupidly grinning at him as he was sitting back in the brown leather armchair, with his leg crossed.

"Don't worry so much, you know she's in good hands with Hank" Charles said with a soothing voice, trying to mix some melted ice with his whiskey, before taking a small sip of it.

"I'm not worrying" Erik added, trying not to sound very defensive about it, making Charles' grin widen even more as he shook his head.

"Do you know what I was thinking about?" asked Charles seriously after a few seconds of silence, not actually expecting Erik to reply.

"I'm not you, Charles" Erik said with a sarcastic voice and a small half-smile.

Not even acknowledging his answer, Charles leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs, looking into the whiskey glass he was holding between his legs.

"She said three guys were looking for us" Charles started, looking up at Erik.

"Yeah, the fake cops" Erik agreed with him.

"And the fact that she came here, injured, in this weird… disguise…" Charles continued with a small smile, making Erik instantly understand what he wanted to say.

"Not only she defeated those guys" Erik continued, crossing his arms, "but she managed to sneak away right in front of their eyes, by basically hiding in plain sight."

"Exactly, my friend" Charles said, looking right into Erik's eyes, sipping from his whiskey.

"Which just makes you more interested in her" Erik sighed, looking into his glass, watching the whiskey lazily flow off of an ice cube.

"Come on, don't be such a hypocrite, Erik" Charles replied mockingly.

"Charles…" Erik started, but was cut off by hearing the soft voice of Olivia approaching from the hallway, followed by a loud laugh from Hank.

The two men in the library looked at each other with disbelief for a second, before Charles looked at the amount of whiskey in his glass. Smiling at his reaction, Erik shook his head before sipping from his own glass, then stepping closer and taking the glass from Charles.

"I think you need more to believe this" Erik added, while pouring another one for Charles.

"I suppose I do" Charles whispered, mainly to himself, with a disbelieving smile.

"So, you can imagine the commotion he caused after that…" they heard Olivia probably finishing a story.

"I could…" said Hank with a smile as he opened the office door to let Olivia in. "But I presume it's better if I never think about it. Ever" he finished, making Olivia smile.

When she entered, they could see that she changed into some more comfortable and less bloody clothes. She had simple high-waisted jeans and a violet off-the-shoulder knitted top on, which suited much more to her. Also, Erik noticed how it made her eyes seem even more warmer more vibrant than before.

"So, was the procedure a success?" Charles asked mischievously, as he stood up.

"Well, I'm not bleeding anymore" said Olivia before Hank could react to Charles' teasing. "I'd call that a success."

"If there's nothing else…" Hank started with an almost unnoticeable eyebrow-twitch.

"Thank you, Hank" Charles said. "And sorry for dragging you out of your lab."

With a small sigh and a groan, Hank left the room, closing the door behind. Looking at the door for a few more seconds, Olivia turned her gaze to the two mutant men. Erik was leaning back to a table, giving a glass of whiskey to Charles, holding his own in his other hand.

"How about we celebrate your arrival with a drink?" Charles asked with a smile.

"You'd like to celebrate the arrival of an unemployed, homeless, injured, fleeing woman with a drink in the school you run at 2 in the afternoon" Olivia said with a stern voice, looking Charles right in the eye, crossing her arms, making his smile disappear.

"Well, umm…" started Charles, looking at Erik for a second for support, obviously getting none. "I just thought…" he said, with a small embarrassed chuckle.

Looking back at Olivia, he saw her looking back at him with a wide grin.

"That's for your rude behaviour when poor Hank arrived" she said. "But I just got some pain-killers, so, no, thank you."

"Did she just…" Charles started with a confused face, looking at Erik.

"You deserved that" Erik said simply, trying to hide his smile with his whiskey glass.

Opening his mouth to counter that, Charles decided not to say anything, just acknowledged his defeat with a small chuckle. Shaking his head, he drank all his whiskey and looked at Olivia with a characteristic charming smile.

"How about we show you around the school?" he asked, making Erik wonder why he wanted to include him in the tour as well.


End file.
